India vs New Zealand Live Score, T20 World Cup 2026: NZ needs 256 runs to win maiden title against IND

Arshdeep Singh at the top of his run up. Tim Seifert on strike.

The first delivery is tailing into the stumps from over the wicket, driven to mid off. The second is slightly shorter, Seifert pulls and misses.

The third is fired into the pads, full and straight, a leg bye towards square leg. Finn Allen plays across the line on the fourth, scuffs this towards mid on, no run.

DROPPED! Shivam Dube puts Allen down. The drive goes awry and high into the night sky, Dube goes for this from mid off, tries the reverse cup and drops. Allen runs two.

A single off the last ball to mid off.

New Zealand openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert have amassed 463 runs together, the highest by any pair in a single T20 World Cup edition, at an impressive run rate of 10.93.

Finn Allen and Tim Seifert have been the standout batting pair for the Kiwis until now. They will have a job one last time on Sunday as New Zealand attempts to overhaul this massive 256-run target.

255! I need a GPS check. Where am I - Ahmedabad? Monza? India has flipped the script at NaMo; perhaps a few in the crowd have been shocked into silence by the home side itself. Unreal hitting.

Despite Jimmy Neesham applying the brakes in that fateful over with three wickets, a scary-looking Indian lineup has put on a scary-looking total. This is the highest T20 score at this ground, the third-highest in a T20 World Cup game. Jeez.

Also, POTT all but confirmed for the friendly Malayali marauder?

Incredible display of power hitting from India. Fifties from the top three - Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan - laid the platform for the home team. New Zealand struck back in the final phase, with some smart back-of-the-length bowling. But Shivam Dube’s late blitz ensured India flew past 250. New Zealand will have to bat out of its skin to win its first T20 World Cup title.

Neeshan with the last over. Overpitched. Slices it over mid off. Santner with a full-stretch dive. The ball evades his palm and bounces off his face and runs away for a four. Length ball now. Too straight. Dube slams it over mid wicket. SIX!!

Neesham misses the yorker again. Dube carves him inside out for another six. Neesham is running out of options here. Into the pitch and it Dube’s body. Pulled away with ease for a four. That brings up the 250 for India. Dube opts against a single off the penultimate ball. He justifies the call by slamming a four off the last ball. India ends with 255.

Low full toss from Henry for the first ball of the over. Swatted away by Hardik over mid wicket for his first six of the game.

Henry goes short and wide. Hardik slashes at it. Top edged and it goes higgghh. Santner circles under at it and takes a clean catch.

Hardik Pandya c Santner b Henry 18 (13b 1x4 1x6)

Shivam Dube is in and he gets a single off his first ball. Wide and short now. Tilak can only get it away for a single. Wide again. Dube can only push it away for a single. A mishit from Tilak lands in the mid wicket region. Two runs added. Another decent over from New Zealand here.

High-on confidence Neesham returns. Hardik defends the hat-trick ball. He gets a single with a controlled pull shot. New Zealand continues to target the back of the length area and it seems to be a rewarding strategy. Both Tilak and Hardik have struggled to get going here. Smart running from Hardik and Tilak to gather a double following a hit to deep mid wicket.

Short now. Hardik smacks it wide of mid wicket for a four. First boundary in 16 deliveries. Is that the spark India needed in the death overs.

Jimmy Neesham, New Zealand’s seventh bowler, pulls a rabbit out of his hat. He picks up three wickets in a single over! SKY’s dismissal has to be the highlight. Rachin Ravindra gallops and hurls himself across at deep backward square to pouch a blinder. You can hear a pin drop right now.

Jacob Duffy with the 17th. Couple of singles to start the over. Tilak with a cut shot. Finn Allen gets his hands on it at point. But looks like he has hurt his hand in the process.

Short from Duffy. Top edged by Tilak. Past the keeper. Henry dives in and cuts it off. Just two runs there. Another brilliant over from New Zealand’s perspective. Just seven runs from it.

High full toss from Neesham and Sanju fails to clear the long on fielder. It brings an end to an excellent innings from the Indian opener.

Sanju Samson c sub (CE McConchie) b Neesham 89 (46b 5x4 8x6)

Surprise move. Out walks Hardik Pandya. He starts with two dot balls before getting off the mark with a single - cut to deep point.

Low full toss against from Neesham. Kishan fails to get the timing right. He is also caught at long on.

Ishan Kishan c Chapman b Neesham 54 (25b 4x4 4x6)

Suryakumar Yadav is the next batter. Back of the length now. The Indian skipper targets the backward fine leg area. A diving Rachin Ravindra pulls off a stunning catch.

Suryakumar Yadav c Ravindra b Neesham 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

Incredible over. One run. Three wickets.

Santner brings himself back. Around the wicket and just outside the off. Not a problem for Kishan. Thumped over mid wicket for a six and he moves to 49. Tucks a fuller delivery to long on to get to his fifty. That is also the hundred-run partnership.

Sanju returns the strikes with a single to long off. Santner fires it in and Kishan fires it back over his head. FOUR!! 200 comes up for India. No stopping these two.

Rachin Ravindra with his second over. Good fielding by him to cut off a single. Wider one now. Sanju taps it to long off for a single.

Rachin drags it short. Kishan fails to get the timing right on the pull. Just a single. Rachin fires it full now. Straight bat and straight six. 100th six of the tournament for India.

Make it 101. Slightly short and Sanju slams it deep into the stands. SIX!!! Full and wide and thumped inside out by Sanju. Flat and just over the ropes. SIX AGAIN!! Stunning stuff from Sanju Samson. Drinks break taken.

Looks like Abhishek Sharma has transferred the Midas touch to Ishan Kishan as well. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson has notched up a fifty of his own.

It is raining boundaries at NaMo. Can somebody grab me an umbrella, please?

Matt Henry returns. Dot ball to begin with, against Kishan. Rank length ball now. Kishan flat-bats it over mid wicket for a six. He is also closing in on a fifty here.

Low full toss from Henry. Tucked away for a single to the leg side by Kishan. Fuller one to Sanju. Flicked away for a single.

Wide short ball. Kishan goes after it. Not completely in control. But it still lands safe. That short of day for New Zealand.

Short, but not short enough from Lockie Ferguson. Sanju wastes no time to latch onto it. Over mid wicket and into the stands. SIX!!

Full now from Ferguson. Sanju spanks it down the ground. Straight as an arrow. SIX again!

Kishan doesn’t want to be left behind. He tonks a fuller delivery from Ferguson over long on for another six. Third maximum of the over.

Back of a length from Ferguson. Sanju gets enough bat on it to put it over mid off. FOUR!!

Couple of singles to start the Santner over.

Kishan on strike. Santner loops one in to his hitting zone. Unleashes a slog sweep. Deep into the stands. Relentless stuff from the Indian batters.

Single brings Sanju on strike. He is one run away from a third-consecutive fifty. He gets there with a gentle push to long on. The crowd erupts in applause.

James Neesham into the attack.

Sanju goes for the lofted shot over extra cover. The edge drops in no-man’s land and ge picks up two.

Four!! Full and wide outside off, Samson guides it past short third for a boundary. Full on the stumps, takes the inside half of Samson’s bat and picks up a single to square leg.

Four!! Neesham to Kishan, a touch wide outside off, slashed past point for a boundary. Short and wide, Ishan flat bats it to mid off for a single.

Yorker length outside, Samson fails to make contact on the guide.

Santner continues.

Ishan goes on the backfoot to smash a short ball through cover for a single after Samson gives him strike on the first ball.

Four singles off the first four balls. India seems content to play out Santner. They don’t need to looking at how they are collecting runs against the other bowlers.

Five runs from the over.

Spin from both ends. Rachin in.

WICKET!! Full and wide to Abhishek, a hit-me ball to the southpaw. Abhishek gets a thin edge that is pouched by Seifet. A wicket against the run of play. Rachin’s golden arm comes to the fore again.

Abhishek Sharma c Tim Seifert b Rachin Ravindra 52(21)

Ishan Kishan in at 3. Full on the stumps, drilled down the ground to long on for a couple. Tossed up wide again, Ishan cuts it through backward point, but can’t clear Phillips, who runs across from the deep and prevents four.

Four!! Ishan punches a length ball through wide long on, the timing was so good that it clears both deep fielders.

Four!! Through the offside this time. Ishan guides a wide ball past short third man.

Mitchell Santner into the attack.

Samson drives the first ball to mid on and then misses the next one outside off. Three dots to begin.

Four!! Back of a length, Samson hangs back and cuts it past backward point for a boundary.

Tighter line, Samson guides it to long on for one. Abhishek picks up a single with a cut to backward point. Six from the over.

Things are set up beautifully for another run-fest, isn’t it? There were two leading edges but both have travelled to the fence. India is off the blocks in some style. Mitchell Santner has tried four different bowlers in the first four overs. Way too much experimentation for the biggest stage, if you ask me. Sanju Samson has looked like a monk, patient yet alert. Abhishek Sharma, after offering two nervous defensive shots against the off-spinner, jumps into a motorcar and rides downtown. As I type, he has two lucky escapes but that doesn’t stop him from racing to a fifty off 18 deliveries. It doesn’t get bigger than this. India 92/0.

Four!! Duffy to Abhishek, low full toss follows Abhishek’s movement. The outside edge runs past short third for a boundary.

Low full toss again, Abhishek times it to perfection and clears the long on fence. New Zealand looking to curb the runs rathern than trouble the batters but that too doesn’t seem to be working.

Chance!! Abhishek top-edges his attempted slog over the legside. Chapman goes chasing but can’t reach it even with a full-length dive.

In the air again, but even further from Chapman this time. Was a pull shot from a short ball.

Fifty for Abhishek! Short and wide, Abhishek moves to the offside and pulls it over mid on for a boundary! 18-ball fifty for the southpaw. What lack of form?, he says.

Henry back into the attack. Two fielders in the deep on the offside. .

He starts with a wide to Abhishek. Slower ball this time, but too wide of off stump. Wide.

Abhishek picks up a single with a guide to deep point. Slower ball but down legside again. Third wide of the over.

Short of a length, Sanju pulls it through midwicket. Goes on the bounce to deep midwicket for one.

Fourth wide of the over. Six! Full and wide to Abhishek, lofts it over mid off and clears the fence!

A single to extra cover for Abhishek. Sanju pulls another short ball towards the legside. In the gap between square leg and midwicket and he will collect two.

Six!! Sanju goes for the pull shot again, slight top edge but enough bat on it to clear the fence.

Lockie Ferguson into the attack.

Four!! Abhishek gives room on the offside again. The pace of Ferguson forces an outside edge on the heave and it runs away through third man.

Six!! Full and wide, Abhishek tonks it through the lineover long in and deposits it into the crowd.

Abhishek picks up a single to backward point. Back of a length down leg to Samson, there was a faint sound I thought but the umpire signals a wide.

Six! Sanju with some luck! Full on the stumps, looked to go down the ground, the edge flies over backward point after hitting the back face of the bat. Another wide. Add one more to that tally.

Slower ball, full outside off, Samson guides it to point. Dot ball. Four!! On the pads again, Sanju clips it past short fine and picks up four more.

This is the first instance of a team registering a 50-run opening stand in a T20 WC final.

Duffy replaces Henry.

Samson tucks a length ball on the pads to the legside and picks up one.

Abhishek looks to move legside but Duffy goes wide outside off. Abhishek pulls out of the shot. Wide called.

Four!! Abhishek miconnects but manages to loft a full ball over long on for a boundary.

Four!! Beautiful shot! Just guides the length ball over long off and manages to find the fence again.

Almost!! If Phillips couldn’t get there nobody could. Abhishek brought out the pull shot on a short ball, just falls in front of deep midwicket. Couple of runs taken.

Samson hoicks across the line, hits the inside half of the bat and trickles to square leg.

Four!! Sanju lofts the last ball of the over down the ground for a boundary. Duffy tried to put a hand out but didn’t stand a chance.

Glenn Phillips into the attack.

Sanju drives the first ball down the ground to long on for one. Time for the match-up against Abhishek now.

Tossed up on off stump, Abhishek calmly drives it to short cover.

Tighter line, angled in, Abhishek prods forward and defends off the front foot.

Stays on the backfoot and clubs a length ball to long off for one.

Sanju happy to pick up the single with a push to long on.

Abhishek drives a full ball through wide long off, the fielder in the deep manages to reel it in. Two runs.

Matt Henry with the brand new white ball in hand.

Full on middle stump to Samson, defends off the front foot back to the bowler.

Appeals for lbw as Henry gets another one to move in to Samson, just missing leg stump. Replays suggest there was an inside edge.

On off stump this time. Samson defends it to point. Full on leg stump again, Samson moves a step to the legside and drives to mid on.

Six!! A touch shorter in length, Samson lofts it over mid on and gets his innings underway. A single to mid on to complete the over.

India’s openers Sanju Samson and Abishek Sharma walk out to the centre. Nothing works as much as an attacking opening partnership in this format of the game. Abhishek is done with his ball-spotting drill. India will hope for a solid contribution from the southpaw today.

As we gear up for the national anthems of both teams, here is a stat about the local boys.

In Ahmedabad, Bumrah has 10 scalps in eight matches at an average of 15.90 and an economy rate of 5.67, with best figures of 3/15.

Both of India’s T20 World Cup titles have come while it defended totals in the finals.

In 2007, India set up 157 in the first innings and won by five runs. In 2024, India scored 176 and beat South Africa by seven runs.

Suryakumar Yadav highlighted at the toss that his team has done well in scoring in the first innings, and the toss could indeed turn out in India’s favour.

Teams have had more success while batting first at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Out of 14 T20Is here, eight have been won by teams batting first.

In this World Cup alone, four of the six games have tilted in favour of the team setting up a score in the first innings.

But NZ has been perfect while chasing targets in this World Cup and hence backed its strength in the final.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (C), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

Mitchell Santner: It is a flat one, we will see if it does anything at the start. We will try to restrict them to a chaseable score. It is going to be a great night with all this crowd. This is biggest stage and everyone is ready. No McConchie, Duffy is playing.

Suryakumar Yadav: Happy to bat first since we have been doing that pretty well. Always good to have runs on the board in the semifinal or a final. It’s history now, new World Cup and we are excited for it. It looks fully already and it’s only toss time and hopefully we will give them a good show. Same team for us.

NZ wins the toss and opts to bowl against India.

AHMEDABAD : GUJARAT : 08/03/2026 : Global pop Superstar Ricky Martin performs during the spectacular closing ceremony of The ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final Cricket Match between India and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Sunday March 08, 2026. Photo : VIJAY SONEJI / THE HINDU.

AHMEDABAD : GUJARAT : 08/03/2026 : Indian artist Falguni Pathak performs during the spectacular closing ceremony of The ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final Cricket Match between India and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Sunday March 08, 2026. Photo : VIJAY SONEJI / THE HINDU.

Hardik Pandya is on the verge of becoming the third player to score at least 200 runs and take 10 wickets or more in a single edition of T20 World Cup. Pandya now has 199 runs and eight wickets in the tournament.

Australia’s Shane Watson (2012) and Zimbabwe’s Sikander Raza are the only two all-rounders to have achieved the double.

1. Shadley van Schalkwyk (USA) – 13 wickets

2. Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe) – 13 wickets

3. Adil Rashid (England) – 13 wickets

4. Varun Chakaravarthy (India) – 13 wickets

5. Lungi Ngidi (South Africa) – 12 wickets

1. Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan) – 383 runs

2. Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe) – 292 runs

3. Finn Allen (New Zealand) – 289 runs

4. Aiden Markram (South Africa) – 286 runs

5. Jacob Bethell (England) – 280 runs

T20 World Cup 2026 - Matches in Ahmedabad

Average first-innings score - 189

Run-rate - 9.12

Ahmedabad is the second-best venue in both stats in this World Cup, only behind Chepauk.

“The Falguni Pathak show begins. The ground is covered in some kind of twinkly-blue canvas. Looks more like a massive Navratri gathering than a T20 World Cup final. With each bass punch, we can feel the press box glass vibrate. Aston Martin F1 fans can relate.”

Fernando Alonso, who resurrected himself mid-race earlier today at the Australian Grand Prix, vehemently agrees!

NMS1.jpeg

Credit: Emmanual Yogini

AHMEDABAD : GUJARAT : 07/03/2026 : Indian team supporters with Indian Tricolor before the start of The ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final Cricket Match between India and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Saturday March 07, 2026. Photo : VIJAY SONEJI / THE HINDU.

The New Zealand pacer had dismissed Samson for a golden duck in Visakhapatnam during the bilateral series between India and the Kiwis.

The in-form Indian averages just 7.5 against Henry and has been dismissed twice.

Earlier in the tournament, Henry had nipped a ball into Pathum Nissanka, Sri Lanka’s best batter in the World Cup, to remove him for a golden duck.

The Black Caps will be hoping for similar magic from Henry in the title showdown.

The Indian openers has been prone to dismissals against off-spin. In the semifinal against England, it was Will Jacks who dismissed him. Even before that, he has been removed by Aryan Dutt and Salman Ali Agha.

In this World Cup, he averages less than 10 and has been dismissed three times. New Zealand is likely to use Cole McConchie to try and nab him cheaply one more time.

New Zealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner has dominated Indian opener Sanju Samson in their match-ups. They have gone head-to-head in three T20 innings and Santner has claimed Sanju’s wicket in all three games, while giving away just two runs (from 10 balls).

The final will also have a grand closing ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Global pop superstar Ricky Martin, alongside iconic Indian performers Falguni Pathak and Sukhbir Singh will headline the event that aims to blend international flavour with the vibrance of Indian music.

The pitch for the final on Sunday is expected to be a mix of red and black soil. The Pitch No. 6 is the surface for the India vs New Zealand match.

Officials and ground staff revealed that the surface will be “true” in nature, giving an equal shot to bowlers and batters to influence the game.

Group ⁠Stage - Beat U.S. by 29 runs

Group Stage - Beat Namibia by 93 runs

Group Stage - Beat Pakistan by 61 runs

Group Stage - Beat Netherlands ‌by 17 runs

Super Eight - Lost against South Africa by 76 runs

Super Eight - Beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs

Super Eight - Beat West ‌Indies by five wickets

Semi-final - Beat England by seven runs

Group Stage - Beat Afghanistan by five wickets

Group Stage - Beat UAE ‌by 10 wickets

Group Stage - Lost against South Africa by seven wickets

Group Stage - Beat Canada by eight wickets

Super Eight - No result as ⁠match abandoned due to rain against Pakistan

Super Eight - ⁠Beat Sri Lanka by 61 runs

Super Eight - Lost against England by four ‌wickets

Semi-final - Beat South Africa by nine wickets

New Zealand and India have played a T20I in Ahmedabad only once, in 2023. Then, the Men in Blue thumped the Kiwis by 168 runs. Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 126, while Hardik Pandya smashed a fifty and then claimed a four wickets as New Zealand was bowled out for just 66.

The memory of the 2023 ODI World Cup final is the first thought that comes to mind about the Narendra Modi Stadium. But, in the shortest format, India has enjoyed success at this ground.

The side has won seven out of its ten encounters. The highest total it has scored is 234/4 against New Zealand in 2023. The lowest total of 111 all out came during the Super Eight fixture against South Africa earlier in this tournament.

New Zealand has just one ICC trophy under its belt - the World Test Championship. In the limited-overs, it has been to multiple finals but is yet to secure a trophy. Santner cheekily remarked, “I would not mind winning a trophy.”

He also admitted his group is well aware that it has been branded as the underdog in this contest.

“It’s been no different this time. Everyone knows we are probably not the favourites, but we don’t mind that. If we do the little things well and put in a strong team performance, it can put us in a good position to hopefully lift the trophy. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to do that,” he added.

Mitchell Santner mentioned that New Zealand would love to silence a packed Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, much like how Pat Cummins’ Australia did during the 2023 ODI World Cup Final.

But Sky’s response was laced with his trademark nonchalance. He said, “Why does everyone keep copy-pasting the same line? They need to come up with something new.”

He added that the Indian camp is relaxed ahead of the big-ticket event and posed confidence in his team’s ability to put up collective performances.

Kiwi middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell has more-than-decent numbers against Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah. In seven innings, Mitchell has added 56 runs from 33 balls against Bumrah, while losing his wicket just twice. (SR - 169.69 | AVG - 28.00).

New Zealand’s only loss in the World Cup so far came in the group stage against South Africa in Ahmedabad. The side roared back against the same opposition in the semifinal in Kolkata. There is likely to be little or no tinkering to the playing eleven ahead of the summit clash.

With the openers in blazing form, the only worry for the Kiwis will be the readiness of their middle-order barring Daryl Mitchell against Jasprit Bumrah and India’s spinners.

Given Gautam Gambhir’s nature to stick to his guns, it looks highly unlikely that India changes its combination for the big final. However, India still has a couple of concerns in the XI -- Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy.

The southpaw opener has just 89 runs from seven innings and needs to pull his socks up against New Zealand. Similarly, Varun has been picked on by batters, with his 1/64 being the most expensive spell by an Indian in the T20 World Cup.

If at all India replaces them, the two likely additions can be Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav.

History beckons both teams. India has been the undisputed leader in the shortest format in this World Cup cycle. The form translated at this tournament as well as India marched onto its second straight final. However, it did not come without its share of surprises and concerns. India was defeated by South Africa in the Super Eight and had to rejig it batting order to get back on its feet. In the bowling department, Varun Chakaravarthy has been far from his best as batters have started taking him on more often.

For New Zealand, the story is not too different. It had to depend on Pakistan to make it to the semifinals. Although, it pulled off a commanding nine-wicket win in that match against South Africa, its earlier defeats at the hands of the Proteas and England reveal enough cracks that could haunt the side. NZ has struggled to defend totals in this World Cup, and at times has been over-reliant on its openers, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, to set up its batting innings.

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